Feral Intimacy: Feminist Transformations Through Solitary Forest Walks

In the paper, we unpack the feminist potential of solitary forest walks by women,
focusing on the works of contemporary Latvian artist Eva Vēvere and writer Inga
Žolude. We argue that wandering alone in the forest, as depicted in these works,
induces a particular kind of affective relationality to the environment, that we call feral intimacy. It emanates from the immersive aesthetic experience of the forest – a tender, sensual and attentive attunement to its atmosphere. This feeling with the forest also produces feral, i.e., disruptive and transformative effects: it dismantles the gendered perception of the forest that is prevalent in the Western cultural imagination, and fosters bodily self-awareness and reflection, enacting a manifestation of unruly and undomesticated femininity.